Gravity
by owl-ent
Summary: When a small fight turns into something bigger, can Hermione and Ron rekindle their lost romance?
1. Chapter 1

**So, I got a little bored and I guess I just wanted to write this. It's kind of alternate universe. I guess. Or not. If you want to review, that'd be great, but please don't crush my soul. Thanks :)**

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**Prologue**

Ron gave a nervous knock on Hermione and Ginny's bedroom door. Hermione looked up, brushing strands of hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of her face. _She looks so perfect,_ Ron thought. He suddenly became extremely aware of the how sweaty his palms had become.

"Can I talk to you? It's kind of important." He kicked his foot nervously.

"Well, yes Ron, of course," she smiled her perfect, pearly smile.

"Okay, thanks."

Silence feel between them. Hermione looked at Ron expectantly, but he remained in shifty silence. After several uncomfortable minutes Hermione broke the tension.

"Ron… Um… I'm not trying to be rude, but I kind of have a lot of work to do, you know, for getting back to school and getting back mum and dad's house and things. Would you mind if we made this quick?"

She adjusted some papers on her bed and finally looked into his face. Her slightly stern expression softened. He was standing straight as a board in her doorway. A nasty mixture of purple and yellow was creeping up his neck.

"Um, here," she cleared a space on the bed, "come and sit down."

He walked stiffly over and lowered himself robotically onto the bed, not looking at her.

"Ron, you've been acting a little... Off... For the past few days. Are you alright?"

He had never been good at masking his emotions. Hermione had been staying with the Weasley's until she could get her parents back from Australia and he had been feeling very awkward around her. The kiss they had shared at Hogwarts had not been discussed by either of them and neither was in any hurry to bring it up. Now that the war was over, Ginny and Harry had been able to rekindle their romance and Ron felt his and Hermione's time was next.

_But what if she says no_? Ron was on the verge of falling into a full-blown panic.

He glanced back at the door and saw Ginny and Harry, both crouched on the floor staring at him. Harry widened his eyes significantly signaling that it was time. Ron turned back to face Hermione. It was now or never.

"Hermione...I…" Ron stuttered "W-willyoubemygirlfriend?" He asked in one rushed breath.

"Sorry... What?" she asked, as she furrowed her brow in confusion.

Ron sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead in frustration, it was hard enough for him to say it once, and he didn't know if he could say it again.

"Ron," Hermione said gently, as she took his hand comfortingly, "It's ok, just relax. It's me; it's just Hermione. You can tell me anything."

Ron looked into her sweet encouraging face and squeezed her small, soft hand.

He drew a final deep breath, "Hermione..." he said firmly, "Will you be my girlfriend?" he stared determinedly into Hermione's eyes.

"I… Wh-… What?"

"I like you," he said simply, "I like being around you and… You know, you don't have to, but you make me really happy when I'm around you and I don't want to be with anyone else. And I don't really like the idea of you being with anyone else."

Hermione gave a small laugh; hardly believing these words could be coming from Ron's mouth. She leaned forward and she whispered into his ear, "I don't want to be with anyone else either, Ron."

Ron's face broke into wild grin. He snaked one arm around her neck and the other around her waist. They both sighed with happiness and Hermione felt her heart skip as Ron planted one kiss on her neck. Hermione finally broke the hug when she heard a giggle and turned to find Harry, and almost the entirety of the Weasley family standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Ron turned to the doorway, the purple tinge replaced with bright crimson.

"What?" he said exasperatedly.

"You know bloody well 'what', you stupid prat," snickered Ginny.

Hermione gave an embarrassed half sigh half laugh and buried her face in Ron's chest, as it turned bright red with embarrassment.

George made his way over to the couple, "Well, it's about bloody time," he smiled, "I'll be honest, I was sure he was gonna blow it" he chuckled as he playfully smacked Ron across the head.

"Shut up, George." but he pulled Hermione in closer as he said it.

"Oh, Ronny!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley.

She pushed her way through the crowd, practically knocking George to the floor, and threw a hug over Ron and Hermione. "I'm so happy for you two. I knew, I just knew!" she said fondly as she wiped the tears of joy from her eyes.

Finally breaking away, she shouted over the rest's chatter "Come along! Dinner's ready!" She ushered everyone out of the room.

Hermione and Ron stayed back as they watched the rest traipse down to the kitchen.

"Well… Um… Do you want to go to dinner?" Hermione said, looking at her hands.

She felt Ron's hand gently wind its way behind her neck and gently, he pulled her face up to his and pressed his lips against hers. After a few seconds they broke apart.

"I suppose that's okay for me to do now?" He asked, his thumb brushing her cheek.

Left slightly warm and breathless from the kiss, she smiled and nodded. Ron's wild smile was back

"Good, because I've been waiting to do that for a really long time."

**_Chapter One_**

_-Four Years Later-_

Ron trudged into the dark apartment dripping with rain from the vicious storm that was raging outside. It has been a particularly long, irritating day. Come to think of it, this entire month had just been like one long work day. More and more people had been claiming that their friends were being controlled by death eaters that were still at large. And as unlikely as this was, his boss was the jumpy type and had been particularly hard on him. He was not interested in anything except for a hot shower and a warm bed.

He threw his sopping coat on the hall tree and was just about to head the bathroom when a pang of hunger pierced his side. He turned and saw a faint light come from under the kitchen door and, knowing what was waiting for him, was highly tempted to go back to the unrelenting storm. Seeing how it was Ron, the hunger won the small battle. He walked down the hallway and pushed open the door.

Hermione was standing over the sink scrubbing a pot with unusual vigor. Her face was calm, but Ron was used to the passive faze of her anger and knew the aggressive was making its way to the surface hard and fast.

"Hi Hermione."

"Hello Ron." Her voice was calm, but the scrubbing became slightly more violent.

He slowly made his way around the kitchen, pulling out milk, cereal, bowl and spoon. He poured the cereal and milk and took the first bite.

"This is stale." He muttered. The pot crashed to the sink as Hermione whipped around.

"This is the fourth time this week you've been late, Ron. I don't see why it's such a difficult task for you to simply send an owl!"

"Bloody Hell, Hermione, will you calm down? I'm busy when I'm working. That's why I've been late!"

"Well, it's just a waste of food when I try to make dinner for us and you're not even here. If you would actually take some time out of your day to be considerate and let me know when you were going to be home, you wouldn't have to eat the stale cereal that I asked you to throw out a week ago!"

"I would rather eat that cereal than the shitty stuff you call "dinner" that I have to come home to on the unfortunate nights I finish work early!"

"Oh thanks Ron. That's really nice. At least I try to do something nice and have a hot meal for you when you get home. When was the last time you even thought about doing something considerate for me? '_I left my toenail clippings on your side of the bed so there will always be a piece of me, love. Happy Valentines Day!' _ So sweet, dear! I don't know why you don't have more girls clambering after you all the time!"

"Please! 'Do something nice for me'? All I get is scolded. I feel like I'm living back at home. Even my mum doesn't nag as much as you do. And she at least let me have a little time to myself!"

"Don't give me th-" Hermione started angrily.

The entire day began to weigh on him, three straight weeks of this. Being yelled at non-stop for all the work he was trying

"JUST SHUT UP, HERMIONE!" Ron yelled. He threw the bowl against the wall. Hermione gasped and backed into the wall as cereal, milk, and glass flew all around the tiny kitchen.

"I CAN'T GET FIVE DAMN MINUTES TO MYSELF WITHOUT YOUR BLEEDING VOICE IN MY EARS. LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!"

He punched wall right next to Hermione's head, leaving a dent. A ringing silence fell. Hermione stared at Ron at though she had never seen him before. Ron was breathing roughly through his nose, his face livid. He jerked his fist away from the wall.

"Leave, Ron," she said quietly "Don't come back until you've calmed down."

Ron glared at Hermione for another moment and then turned and whipped out of the kitchen. She heard the apartment door slam and immediately let out a dry sob. She slowly cleaned up the cereal bowl fragments and magically repaired the wall. She was about to make her way upstairs for what would hopefully be a relaxing bath when there was knock at the door. She slowly opened the door secretly hoping it would be Ron waiting with an apology and hug.

"Her-mo-ninny?" said a concerned, familiar voice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, here's chapter two... I hope you guys like it! Also, I get notorious cases of writers block that I'm going to apologize in advance for. Reviews are great, but no lighting me on fire. :)**

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Chapter Two

Ron disapperated to Godric's Hollow and hammered on the door of a cozy yellow house. He saw a bright, brown eye look through the cloudy window in the door. After a moment, his little sister jerked the door open looking annoyed.

"Knocking down the door isn't going to make us want you to stay longer."

"Shut up, Ginny."

He shoved past her into the living room where he saw his best friend reading the evening prophet in high backed chair beside the flickering fireplace. Throwing himself down on the couch, he stared moodily at the crackling fire.

"What's going on, ma-?" started Harry.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" snapped Ginny, stomping into the cozy living room. "You can't just barge in here anytime you want and make yourself at home! We are busy planning a wedding and, you know, leading our own lives."

Harry pulled Ginny into his lap and rubbed her back muttering 'shh'. Ron ignored her.

"Hermione and I got into a row," he mumbled.

Harry smiled slightly. "You're gonna have to be a bit more specific, mate. It'd be a bit easier for you to tell us when you two weren't in a row."

Ron shook his head and closed his eyes. "No, no, this was different. I… I punched-"

Ginny jumped out of Harry's lap and bore down on Ron with venom in her eyes. "You hit her? Ronald Bilius Weasley, if you tell me that you laid one hand on her, I will-"

"Calm down, you looney! Of course I didn't hit her. I… I just… I threw a bowl and I punched wall next to her."

Ginny was still looking irate. "Oh, well that's SO much better! You really are an idiot, Ron. Can you imagine what she's thinking right now?" Ginny turned and strode the kitchen still shouting about abuse and how Ron didn't deserve what he had.

Waiting until Ginny's yelling had subsided, Harry asked again.

"What happened, Ron?"

He still didn't look at Harry, but divulged the story.

"…And she just kept yelling at me and, I don't know, I just lost it." He looked ashamed at this point.

Harry had remained silent through out the story. He looked like he felt slightly sorry for Ron.

"Mate, you should probably just apologize."

Ron looked like he did not think much of this idea, but Harry continued on. "Ron, do you really think this needs to get any bigger than it already is? You know how Hermione gets when she's stressed. She was probably just worried about you. And you said yourself you were tired. Don't you think you might have overreacted a bit?"

"Yes!" Ginny shouted from the kitchen.

Ron nodded, still looking uncomfortable. "I guess I'll go apologize," he mumbled. Ginny returned to the living room holding a steaming mug. "Who knows," said Ron "maybe she'll apologize too."

Harry nodded cheerfully and Ginny gave an 'I-don't-think-she-needs-to-apologize-for-anything' look, but nodded as well. Ignoring this, he bade them both a hasty goodbye and apparated to the front of his and Hermione's apartment door. He pulled out his key, but found it unlocked. An oddity, as Hermione was usually so careful about security, even four years after the wars had ended. He pulled open the door and saw the kitchen light was still on. Usually their evening fights ended with her going to bed and Ron having time to cool off. He made the familiar journey and pushed open the door. The sight before his drove his temper straight up again. Hermione, _his Hermione, _was wrapped in the tight embrace of Viktor Krum. They broke the hug as soon as the door was opened.

"Ron!" exclaimed Hermione "I'm so glad your back, I'm so-"

Ron backed away looking disgusted. "What is he doing here?"

Hermione looked between Viktor, who seemed to interpret Ron's tone of voice much better that Hermione, and Ron, who seemed to be having difficulty keeping calm.

"Well, he's actually lived here for a couple weeks now and he, heard us arguing and just wanted to see if everything was alright. We had no idea we were neighbors."

Ron's ears were turning more and more maroon with every word he spoke. "Well, isn't this lovely. You and _Vicky _catching up on all those cozy hours in the library."

It was Hermione's turn to flush pink now. She looked back at Viktor almost pleadingly. He seemed to read her eyes and took his coat off the back of the kitchen chair.

"I… I vill go now. Goodnight, Her-mo-ninny."

He gave her a brief squeeze on the shoulder and, giving Ron as wide of a berth as he could, left the kitchen. Ron waited until the door had shut and rounded on Hermione again.

"So, as soon as we have a fight you run off to your precious Bulgarian Bon-Bon?"

"Ron, no, it's not like that. I just needed someone to talk to."

"It had to be him?"

Hermione looked extremely exasperated. "Ron, he's just a friend. I've known him for years!"

"Hermione, I hate you seeing him. You know he doesn't want to only be your friend!"

"It's not up to you who I'm friends with! You don't own me!" Hermione's face was flushed as crimson as Ron's was now. Ron stared at her, hardly believing what he was thinking about saying.

"I'm sick of this Hermione! It's me or him."

She stared at him, openmouthed. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I don't want you seeing him and I want you to decide. It's him or me."

Her mouth remained open, but nothing came out. Their eyes bored into one another, secretly hoping the other would speak. Would forget the events of the evening; would forget the flared tempers. Nothing came though.

"I think I have my answer," said Ron in a slightly hollow voice "goodbye Hermione."

Without a second word, he turned on the spot and disapperated before Hermione could call him back.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I know this chapter is really short, but what happens just happens. There's not really much else to say about it. **

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Chapter Three

Ron reappeared at the Leaky Cauldron. The usual Friday night crowd was their, plus a few unfamiliar faces. He wondered briefly if there was some kind of party there. Two men start to throw obviously drunken punches at each other, but he ignored them and miserably made his way to the bar, demanding a shot of firewhiskey from Tom. As soon as the bartender set the shot down, he threw it back immediately and savored the burning sensation in his throat. _How could she choose him over me? We've been together for four yeas! _He thought. Over the next hour, six more firewhiskeys were consumed and his vision and his judgment had become very foggy.

"Hey stranger." Said a familiar, sultry voice.

Ron looked blearily in the direction of the voice. Curly brown hair, pink bow and a tight matching sweater met his gaze.

"W-well, hello." Slurred Ron.

"You look a little worse for wear. Is the girlfriend not with you tonight, love?"

Ron let out a laugh that reeked of alcohol. "What girlfriend? I-I don't have a girlfriend! She chose Krumbly over me. Scr-screw her! I loved her since I was four-leven. A-and she chooses a ruddy quidditch player over me! I don't need Herminny!"

The girl let out a throaty laugh. "You seem like you're doing pretty well for yourself."

"Of course I am!" shouted Ron "I'm Ron Weasley! Weasley is the King! I'm the King!"

"Well King Weasley, since you don't need her anymore, why don't I show you what you really could do with?"

The rest of the night was unremembered by Ron; a mess of alcohol, twisted clothing, and passionate, sloppy kisses ending when he awoke in a very uncomfortable position. His arms were draped on the floor and his legs were tangled in the rather scratchy, mothball scented sheet. The bed was positioned just in front of a large window and, opening a bleary eye, he winced as the fire of the bright morning sun knocked him fiercely on the head. Wiping away a pool of drool with one hand, he pulled himself up and tried to steady himself, using the sheet for leverage. The bedding finally gave way and the sheets were pulled off the entire bed. Ron was startled to see a smooth, pale leg lying in the middle of the bed. Ron felt as though his stomach had dropped through the floor. _Oh God. Please be Hermione. Please let us have made up. _thought Ron desperately.

Forgetting the pain in his head completely, he snuck around to the other side of the bed to find the identity of the mystery person. He bent down and pulled a strand of curly hair out of the mystery girl's face. It was Lavender Brown.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

_Oh God. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. _Ron's mind was in a frenzy as he pulled on his slacks and hurriedly buttoned his shirt. This could not be happening. This was a nightmare and surely, if he hoped hard enough, he would wake up. Hermione is going to kill me. _Hermione_. This is going to destroy her. _Although_, he thought, _if she ends up murdering me, she might feel a little better. _

Ron sneaked as quietly as he could through the room and felt his heart join his stomach in its drop through the floor when he heard a throat clear behind him. Lavender Brown was leaning against the headboard, smirking.

"Good morning Won-Won." She laughed sardonically, eyeing his shirt, which he noticed was buttoned wrong. Ron wasted no time. "Lavender, this has to stay between us. I… I don't remember what I said last night, but I was really drunk and this-"

She snorted. "Don't make me laugh, Ron," Lavender said, examining her manicure, "you were my last stop yesterday evening, but you certainly weren't my first. I'll see you around"

Grimacing slightly and sincerely hoping that he would never see her again, he nodded. Muttering a word of thanks, he closed the door quietly and took the stairs three at a time out of the smoky bar.

He made his way to his and Hermione's apartment door. Normally he would have apparated, but he needed time to think. All too soon though, he was at their green door. His fingers were shaking as he fumbled with the key to the lock. A battle was raging in his head. _I can't tell her. You have to! She'll hate me forever. But what if she finds out from somewhere else? Maybe Ginny should tell her. You know that will make it worse!_

Ron opened the door quietly and slipped inside. He shed his cloak and hung it in the hallway. Walking up the silent hallway, he turned into the blue living room that was flooded with the bloody morning sunlight. Hermione was pacing the floor, wringing her hands. A mug and a pitcher of constantly refilling coffee were haphazardly thrown on the coffee table. A bottle of firewhiskey was also next to the pitcher. Ron cleared his throat and Hermione whipped around and let out a sigh of relief. She had crossed the room in two strides and threw her arms around his neck. He embraced her, inhaling her familiar scent, savoring these loving actions. They would probably be the last that he ever received from her.

Her voice sounded hoarse and sincere as she buried her face in his shoulder and mumbled, "Ron, I've been so worried and I'm so sorry. I love you, and I don't want to fight anymore. I know you've been working really hard lately and if you don't want me to see Viktor again, I won't. Of course I choose you. I'll always choose you. You have to know that there's never been anything between us, but I know that's not the point. There's a good chance that I might run into Viktor in the hallway when I'm leaving for work, but I'll tell him that I-"

"Hermione, I slept with someone else." He couldn't stand these loving words from her, knowing he didn't deserve them.

Hermione went completely silent and still. The words seem to ring in the air, left hanging in the silent apartment. After a moment, she pulled away and held him at arms length. Her bloodshot eyes looked confused and disbelieving.

"W-What?"

Ron felt nauseated. His voice wavered as he looked at the floor. "I… I got really drunk last night. And I wasn't thinking and it didn't mean anything. I was really upset and I thought you and Krum had… I didn't know what I was doing. It just happened."

Hermione pulled her arms away, pressing her trembling hands into her chest. She stared at the floor and turned away from him. Her breathing began to come in sharp, uneven gasps. She sunk onto their small couch, still not looking at him. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded jerky and unnatural.

"Who… Who was it?"

This question caught Ron off guard. He had expected yelling, hitting, even some rather unpleasant curses, but this… This question was by far the worst thing she could have imposed upon him.

"Hermione, I can't-"

"Ronald Weasley, you tell me who it was right now."

"It was…" he rubbed his eyes sighing, trying to push the lump that had appeared in his throat away. "It was Lavender. Lavender Brown."

He watched her reaction. For a moment, he thought she was going to throw up. Speaking more to herself than him she began to mutter.

"Oh my God." She pushed her hand over her eyes. "Please, please. This can't be happening. "

Ron was still staring helplessly at her when she finally looked up at him. The muscles in her neck were very tight.

"Why would you do that?" Her voice was very high pitched and it ripped Ron apart inside.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I… I was drunk and I wasn't thinking-"

"You were drunk? What kind of excuse is that?" she stood up and Ron moved slightly closer to her. "Hermione, I swear to God it was just an accident." She slapped him across the face; her own crumpling and she sank onto the couch again. Ron touched the place where her hand struck.

"Ron… You… You slept with _Lavender_. You have to leave and you can't come back." Her voice sounded defeated.

She covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes as tears started to fall. Her eyes had dropped back to the floor. Ron crossed the room towards her, dropping to his knees. He took her hands in his own, tears of his own starting to fall.

"No, no Hermione. We can fix this. We can work on this; I can't lose you. I can't live without you. Without… Without these hands," He pulled both of them up and kissed them, tears starting to fall from his eyes as well. "without your face," he kissed her tear soaked face "and without you, Hermione. I cant-I can't live without you. You're the most important thing… You're the best thing that's ever… Hermione, it's us. We can get through anything." He kissed her face again, gradually moving his way closer to her mouth, muttering how much he loved her in between every kiss, finally reaching her lips. She turned her head very slightly, starting to kiss him back. Then, without warning, she pushed him roughly away.

"No, Ron! We can't just kiss and then things are all better! That's not how it works! This is different."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry."

She moved away from him.

"Ron, I think you should go," she was crying again, but her voice was steady "I can't be around you. You're a totally different person now. I trusted you, and " She pressed her hands to her eyes, letting out a disgusted groan. "God, I just can't stop picturing you with her. "

"Hermione, please, it didn't mean any-"

"Get out! Get away."

"Hermione-"

The mug of coffee shot past his head and smashed on the wall. He was sprayed with the cold coffee. Hermione seemed to have resolved herself to an outpour of rage, even though tears were dripping down her face.

"Get out!" she shouted.

Ron raised his hands over his head and started to back out of the room. Hermione's wand was being pointed at him, but her hand was shaking violently. He finally reached the door and groped for the handle.

"Hermione, I love you and I'm so-"

"Don't you dare tell me that you love me, Ron! You should have thought about how much you loved me when you shagged another girl!" she let out a sob. "When you shagged Lavender!"

She reached around him and wretched the door open. She pushed him roughly out into the hallway.

"Don't come back." She mumbled and slammed the door in his tear stained face. Before he disapperated, he heard her slide down the door and let out an anguished cry.


End file.
